Cupcakes and Rivals
by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: The opening of Canary Cakes worries Snart's Tarts with new competion. One of the owners, Leonard Snart, decides to see what's so good about Canary Cakes. (Captain Canary with Goldenvibe mentions)


**I got prompted to do a Baker AU a while back, and I kept setting it off because I couldn't get any ideas. But a little help from the Legends Crew got me writing this. I am now realizing I forgot to crosspost when I published this on a friend's birthday, so now it's coming over here.**

* * *

"Smells good in here."

Sara Lance looked up from where she was placing cupcakes on a stand and smiled at her older sister. Laurel was dressed in her business suit, all ready to go to the law firm she worked at. Her sister, the perfect older child, has continued to live up the high expectations in their family. Sara had always felt pressure to live up to them, but that was before she decided to make her own path. It started with her going into culinary school, and now had her opening up her own bakery.

"Did you come to see me or just to look at the food?" Sara teased as she placed the last one on and covering the stand.

Laurel shrugged. "Both."

Sara grinned and laughed as she came around the counter to hug her sister.

"I wanted to drop in before work," Laurel told her. "I'm so proud of you, sis. This is going to be great."

"Thanks," Sara replied, blushing a little. "Are you going to be here for the opening later?"

Her sister's face fell. "I can't. I have to be in court then. I'll stop by later though and see all the empty trays."

"I don't know if they'll all be empty."

"Sara, your baking speaks for itself. You and Sin are going to be in for a lot of customers. I told everyone I knew at work about this."

"So I should expect a lot of suits," Sara teased. "Great."

She noticed then that Laurel was eying one of the trays that Sin had just brought out. "Want something for the road?"

"Please?"

Sara laughed and bagged a croissant for her. Laurel paid for it and left with the promise to come by before the end of the day as she left Canary Cakes.

* * *

"We are not alone."

Leonard Snart turned around as his sister entered their bakery. For years, Snart's Tarts had been the family business, the ownership passed down through each generation. At least, it had been until their father let it go out of business while Leonard was still a child to follow more criminal interests. But a few years ago, Leonard, Lisa, and their friend Mick had decided to revive the business once they raised enough money. They'd been keeping it going ever since, using all the old family recipes and even a few new ones.

"Is this another one of your fiancé's theories?" he asked while Lisa washed her hands and donned an apron. "Tell me, how does Cisco think aliens exist this time?"

His little sister rolled her eyes. "That was one time, Lenny. Let it go. Besides, I'm talking about something completely different."

She slapped a bright yellow flyer down on the counter. "We're not the only bakery around anymore."

Mick walked over and picked up the paper to study it before passing it to Leonard. It was announcing the opening of Canary Cakes. According to the flyer, its grand opening was today, on the other end of the block from Snart's Tarts.

"So we've got competition," Mick shrugged as Leonard passed the flyer back to Lisa and they all moved to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on what they were selling.

"It would seem so," Leonard agreed as Mick began to frost the cupcakes with Lisa joining in a moment later. "Think they'll be anything like the last bakery that tried to set up shop around here?"

Lisa shook her head as she finished frosting a second cupcake. "I don't think they really counted."

Leonard nodded in agreement. "The Mardons were only using it as a front for their real business that got them arrested."

"That was a good day," Mick recollected. "Cops came by and bought a lot of stuff."

"Besides, the Mardons' baking was lousy," Lisa added, setting down another cupcake.

Mick looked from the cupcake to her with a glare. "Like what you've just done to those cupcakes."

"What's wrong with them this time?"

"Look at the ones I've done and see for yourself."

Leonard held back a smirk as his sister glowered at the other man. He did have a good point though. The ones Mick had frosted were neat and near identical. Lisa's, on the other hand, were not so much that way. Frosting was not her talent. Besides, Mick had a tendency to be protective over his cupcakes.

"Well, I'm going out front to get everything else ready to open up," Lisa sighed. "Do you think we'll ave good business today with the new place opening up?"

"I hope so," Leonard muttered as he placed some of the tarts on the display platter. "If they're any good, we might end up taking a loss."

"Maybe I can hire them to make the cake for my wedding?" Lisa teased before seeing his expression. "I'm kidding, Lenny."

* * *

A few weeks later, Sara flipped the sign on door over to _Closed_ just as someone grabbed the handle on the other side. Laurel was staring at her through the glass, looking utterly exhausted. She gave a pull on the door before realizing that it was locked. Sara stifled a laugh as her older sister frowned at her with annoyance before unlocking the door for her to come in.

"You seem a little flustered," she remarked as Laurel practically collapsed into one of the chairs.

Laurel let out a long groan. "I've been in court all day long."

Sin, who had just emerged from the counter, wrinkled her nose and grimaced. "Yuck."

"Well, at least you're out now," Sara reassured her as she returned to finish cleaning off the tables.

"Up until tomorrow," her sister sighed. "Sara?"

Sara looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"Please tell me that you've got one of those chocolate pecan cupcakes left?"

"You're in luck," Sin said. "There's only one left."

"If she pays up."

"Sara, please," Laurel turned to her.

"Laurel, no."

Laurel straightened up. All exhaustion was tossed aside as her demeanor shifted into the mode that told Sara "Lawyer Laurel" was coming out to play. Whenever that side of Laurel came out, it always meant you were going down.

"You know, Dad still thinks that the dent on his car happened because of that kid down the block running into it while it was parked outside," Laurel said slowly.

Sara stiffened. "Laurel, that was a long time ago."

"He hasn't forgiven the kid ever."

"Laurel, you wouldn't."

The lawyer narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Oh, I would."

"You swore you wouldn't tell anyone about that," Sara shook her rag before going back to the table.

"I would now if I don't get the cupcake."

The two sisters stared at each other until Sara finally sighed and made her way over the counter to get the treat. Laurel smiled victoriously.

"You're such a brat," Sara grumbled, although she was fighting a smile.

Laurel looked back at her. "And you never were?"

* * *

Things were not going well.

Business at Snart's Tarts had taken quite a hit with the opening of Canary Cakes. None of their employees had visited their competition, although Lisa's fiancé had gone there out of curiosity. Cisco had raved about it to Lisa, who in turn informed Leonard and Mick about it the next day at work.

"Does he know anything about the owner?" Leonard asked.

Lisa shook her head. "He didn't ask."

"Useless," Mick muttered under his breath. Lisa glowered at him.

Leonard sighed. He had been desperately hoping that Canary Cakes would lose business after the hype of it wore down. However, it had been a month since its doors had opened, and still seemed to be doing well. The family business, on the other hand, wasn't back at where it was in sales before their new rivals had opened their doors. They were still having good business and loyal customers, and they were in no sign of trouble. It was still a hit to their business though.

"I don't think they're going out of business anytime soon," Leonard addressed the other two. "We might have to up our game if we want to stay on top."

"So how do we do that?" Mick asked.

Leonard smirked. "Research. We get an idea of what we're up against. And once we do, we rise up to meet them and get out ahead."

"And how are you going to do that?" Lisa inquired, crossing her arms. "Just waltz right into Canary Cakes?"

His sister might have been joking around, but that was exactly what Leonard was planning to do.

* * *

Sara was by the register when the bell above the door rang. Taking the pen she'd been chewing away from her lips, she lifted her head up to see who had just come into the bakery. Canary Cakes had been open for over a month and a half by now, and business had been pretty steady. She had started to get some regular customers by now, and even picked up a few of their names.

The man who had just entered was not a regular. Come to think of it, Sara didn't think that she'd ever seen him before in Canary Cakes. If he had come by before, she definitely would have remembered him. Tall, lanky, and handsome as hell, despite being a little older, he stepped inside and looked around, hand holding the strap of his shoulder bag tightly. Despite it being August and still quite warm, he was wearing a black leather jacket and dark jeans.

His eyes locked onto hers, and he made his way to the counter. "Hello."

Sara smiled at him. "Hey."

She watched as he slowly studied the display case of baked goods. Her customer seemed to be scrutinizing each of the items carefully. Sara waited for him to make a choice, watching him drum his fingers on the strap of the bag. It was a bit distracting to her.

"Any recommendations?" he asked, looking back to her.

Sara shrugged. "From what I've been told, everything's good. It all depends on personal preference."

"I think I'll have one of the cookies and a coffee."

"Good choice," she told him as she rang up the order and he paid her the money. Once she gave him his change, Sara turned around to the coffeemaker. It was then she realized she had forgotten to start the pot again. Normally, Kendra handled the beverages, but today her friend was out sick.

"You don't mind waiting, do you?" she asked, whirling back around to him.

He shook his head. "Just means I get fresh coffee."

Sara smirked and set the coffeepot on before moving to where the cookies were. "What kind of cookie do you want?"

"Surprise me."

Looking over the ones she had left (they were really selling out of stuff often), Sara grabbed a pair of tongs and grasped a chocolate chip cookie with them. Setting it on a plate, she straightened back up and passed it to him. The coffeemaker was still working, so she turned back to her customer.

"So I haven't seen you here before," she said casually.

"I haven't had the chance to come over," he responded. "I have been hearing a lot about Canary Cakes though. Bet the owner's quite happy with her business."

"I am," Sara replied smugly. She was incredibly pleased with her business and how it had taken off.

Her expectation had been for him to look surprised that she was the owner. Instead, he smiled at her. "Hope you've been hearing the same good things about you that I have, Sara."

Frowning, she opened her mouth to ask him how he knew her name before she remembered she had her little tag that Kendra had made for all the employees at Canary Cakes. She chuckled a little as he raised a finger to point it out the moment after realization hit her. The coffee was finally ready as this was happening, and she turned away from him to get him the long awaited coffee.

"So since you know my name, do I get to know yours?" she teased as she handed him the not beverage.

The man took the plate and cup with a small smirk. "Leonard."

"Leonard," Sara repeated. "Enjoy."

* * *

Leonard spent an hour in Canary Cakes under the guise of writing a paper. Technically, he had a document open and was typing on it. But instead of paragraphs, he was making notes on what he was seeing around him. Sara, the owner, was still up at the counter, now helping out a couple who had just come in. A couple of times, she'd almost caught him looking in her direction, but he had shifted his eyes back down to his computer at the last minute to continue to record his observations.

When he returned to his own bakery, Lisa and Mick were waiting for him to give his report on the bakery. The cookies at Canary Cakes were a bit bigger in diameter than the ones they made in Snart's Tarts. He had been able to taste more vanilla in them as well, although they were also a little drier. Other than that, they were pretty good.

"Did you see the owner?" Lisa asked him as she looked over the notes he had made during his time there.

Leonard nodded. "I did. Her name's Sara. She's not too bad."

Lisa smiled as she looked up from the laptop. "Does she know anything about us? Or you?"

He shook his head. "I only told her my first name. I never mentioned our bakery."

"Good move," Mick muttered, concentrating on the batter he was currently mixing. "So do you have enough information on the place?"

Leonard thought over what Mick just said to him. Yes, there was enough that he wouldn't have needed to go back to the rival bakery. They could work with improving the cookies, but there were also other baked goods that could be improved as well. Besides, he wouldn't mind going back there. The coffee wasn't half bad, and neither was Sara.

"I might need to go back a few more times," Leonard told them. "We can't beat them out with just making our cookies better."

His old friend nodded in agreement. Lisa snickered a little. Leonard looked back over at her. "What?"

"You sure you don't want to go back just for Sara?" she teased, raising an eyebrow.

Leonard rolled his eyes and left the room.

* * *

"So have you ever heard of Snart's Tarts?"

Sara looked over from where she was clearing a table to the booth where Leonard was seated. It had been at a few weeks since he had first started visiting Canary Cakes. He came every few days, always with his laptop, but always ordering something different food-wise. She had come to look forward to his visits and the conversations that they had.

"I have," Sara answered, stacking the dishes. Before she had signed the deal on the space her bakery now occupied, she had done some scouting of the area. She was aware that there was another bakery nearby, although it was on the other end of the block from Canary Cakes. It did have potential to prove for tough competition, but Sara had the advantage of her store being closer to some office buildings than Snart's Tarts was.

"Ever worry about the competition?" Leonard asked.

Sara shook her head. "Business is going well. It's been steady so far, and I have regular customers. I don't think that I'm in trouble."

"Have you ever gone there?"

"Nope," Sara told him.

Leonard raised an eyebrow over his croissant. "How come?"

Sara pursed her lips and sighed. "I want to be my own business. I don't want this whole rivalry thing."

"They might not want a rivalry," Leonard suggested. "Personally, I tend to think that rivalries are a little childish."

He had a good point. As Sara carried the dishes over the bin to take them to the back later, she entertained the idea of dropping by Snart's Tarts sometime. Apparently, according to her father, her grandfather had gone there before it went out of business, and now it had reopened a few years back. Maybe a trip there sometime wouldn't be too bad.

"So what's with all the questions today?" Sara asked, walking back over to him. "Do I get to ask a few of my own?"

He spread his hands apart. "Ask away."

"What do you do?" she started out with. "I always see you with that laptop. I'm kinda curious what you're doing with it."

Leonard shrugged. "Research. Studying."

"Are you a graduate student?" Sara pressed as the bell above the door tinkled and more customers entered. Sin was working with Thea in the kitchen, Kendra was dealing with tables, and no one was at the counter.

"Guess we'll have to do this another time," she said, looking back to Leonard.

He smiled at her as she went to go deal with the new arrivals.

* * *

Sin stared out at into the seating of Canary Cakes. She saw Sara smiling as she left the customer, Leonard or whatever, that she had been talking with lately. Every time he came in, she would always come over to where he was sitting if the customer flow was slow. Sin was getting suspicious that it wasn't just for social reasons that they were talking. Perhaps she actually liked this guy.

But there was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. It felt like he was hiding something.

Thea moved over beside her. "What are you looking at?"

"That guy Sara keeps talking to," Sin nodded toward where Leonard was. "The one who keeps coming here every few days."

"Yeah," Thea grinned a little. "I think Sara likes him."

"Me too," she agreed. "But there's something off about him. I don't like him."

"Sin, I don't think he's a serial killer or anything."

"Maybe not that, but I still don't trust him."

* * *

As Leonard left the bakery, he couldn't help but smile. He was starting to like going to Canary Cakes. Sara Lance was one talented baker, and he had brought a few things back to Snart's Tarts for Mick and Lisa. Lisa still kept teasing him about continuing to go back there for the sole reason of Sara, and he had to admit that maybe now she was a part of why he did keep going back. He wanted to get to know her better outside of the bakery, and to stop using the lame excuse that he was just a graduate student.

During his walk back to Snart's Tarts, he felt as though he was being followed at one point. When he turned around, there was no one there. He sighed and shook his head. All this sneaking between bakeries was making him paranoid.

"You're back," Lisa said cheerfully as he came in the door. "I've got news for you."

"Is it good?"

"I get to have my turn observing at Canary Cakes," his sister told him smugly. "I just arranged a time with the lovely Miss Lance to discuss wedding cake options."

"So you're denying the tradition of a Snart-made cake at your wedding?" Leonard raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were kidding when you first brought it up."

Lisa sighed. "Relax, Lenny. You and Mick will still be able to make the cake. I'm setting any plans in stone for sure…"

She trailed off and stepped to the side, tilting her head up to look over his shoulder. Leonard turned around to see three women staring through the window at him. He recognized all of them. Two of the girls worked at Canary Cakes. The third was Sara's sister, Laurel, who he had met about a week ago when she came in to visit her sister.

The group realized he had seen them. They backed away and walked from the window quickly, headed in the direction that Leonard had just come from. He knew what they were going to be doing. They would be going back to Canary Cakes and tell Sara all about him. They would tell him that she had been conversing with her rival this whole time in plain sight.

"This isn't good," Mick said rather obviously from behind him.

* * *

"Sara!"

Sara whirled around to see Sin, Thea, and Laurel bursting into the bakery. Her customers looked toward the trio that had barreled in with expressions ranging from curiosity to annoyance. Sara quickly rang up the current customer before the girls hurried behind the counter.

"We need to talk to you," Thea huffed as she caught her breath.

"About Leonard," Sin added.

Sara looked over at Kendra. "Could you cover for me for a moment?"

"Absolutely," her friend nodded to her and the trio. "Take as long as you need."

"Thanks," Laurel flashed a smile at Kendra before grabbing Sara's hand. "We won't be long."

They dragged Sara back into the kitchens before she could even make any protest. Thea shut the door behind them. Sara crossed her arms and stared at her sister and employees. "Okay, what's this about Leonard you desperately need me to hear?"

"We found out Leonard's last name," Sin announced.

"So?"

"It's Snart," Laurel told her. "Leonard Snart. Snart as in Snart's Tarts. The family-owned bakery that reopened a few years back. He's your competition."

Sara stared at them. She didn't know what to say. The man who she had gotten to know so well over the weeks was actually working for her competition. "So he works there?"

"I did a search on him and that bakery on our way over here," Laurel told her. "He owns it with his sister and some other guy."

"I thought he was just some cute, nerdy student who needed a place to work!" Sara exclaimed.

Thea looked at her in disbelief. "Sara, he's older than any of us."

"And cute?" Sin added.

"Hey, not every student is young. Some people go back to school later. Anyways, I thought he was a graduate student."

"A cute grad student," Laurel teased.

Sara scowled at her sister. "Well, now he's shady. That sneak had probably been spying on Canary Cakes for weeks."

"Are you going to do anything about it?" Sin asked before turning to Laurel. "Think you can find a way to sue him?"

"I'll look for one."

"No one is suing anyone," Sara groaned. "I'll handle this on my own after we close up today."

* * *

Leonard shut the door behind him and locked it. In the nearby streetlight, a shadow appeared, drawing near him before stopping. When he looked up, he saw Sara standing there, hands in her pockets. Leonard pulled the keys from the lock and shoved it into his pocket before walking over toward her.

Sara smiled. "So, Leonard Snart?"

He chuckled. "I guess you know now."

"Well, I know you're not a graduate student," Sara remarked.

"I never confirmed that," Leonard reminded her. "You just went with that assumption. I only said research."

"Which I'm guessing was on my bakery?"

Leonard nodded. "Guilty as charged."

"Do I get to know why?" Sara asked, staring up at him. "Or can you not disclose that to your rival?"

"You caused a hit on our sales," he told her. "The idea was to see what you were doing well over at your bakery that I could take back to mine to improve what we were doing. Mick and Lisa wanted me to go once."

"But you kept coming back though."

"True," Leonard said. "But you have a nice atmosphere there. Not to mention an owner who is kind, friendly, beautiful, and knows how to make one hell of a mocha cupcake. Mick's a bit bitter that it's better than the ones that he makes."

Sara smirked. "I'm flattered. Although I still can't believe you, who said rivalries were childish, came to spy on my bakery."

"I don't want a rivalry with you, Sara," he told her.

"And I don't want one either," she replied. "But I still want to see you. Although maybe not someplace I work."

Leonard smiled and stared up the street. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"Unless Netflix counts?" Sara shook her head. "Why? Something you have in mind?"

"There's a place two blocks over," Leonard gestured with his hand in the general direction of it. "They have pretty good Mexican. Are you interested?"

Sara grinned. "Why not? And maybe I can find out who Leonard Snart really is?"

They started walking down the street, passing by Canary Cakes in the process.

* * *

 _2 ½ years later_

"What about _The Goddess and Her Baker_?" Sara suggested, tapping the pencil against her chin thoughtfully as she smirked over at Leonard.

"Sounds a little stuffy," Leonard replied. "And how come it's _The Goddess_ and not God?"

"We are not calling it _God and his Baker_ , Len," Sara teased her fiancé.

"Why not?"

"One, it sounds a little pretentious. Two, you are not God."

"How about you save your cutesy bickering for later?" Laurel grumbled, glaring at the couple. "We need to get other stuff dealt with besides a name for your new bakery."

"I'm with her," Mick agreed.

Sara smirked over at Leonard. They'd come so far from having two bakeries whose owners were only able to meet through one of them visiting the other's bakery. Now, Snart's Tarts and Canary Cakes would no longer be existing. For a while, Sara and Leonard had planned to merge the two bakeries together, even before Leonard proposed to her. With the help of Mick, Laurel, Lisa, and Cisco, they were getting ready to open a brand new one.

"Do you guys have any suggestions?" Leonard asked, looking over at the two of them.

Laurel opened her mouth to say something when everyone's phones buzzed. Sara reached out to grab hers and unlocked it. The message had been from Lisa, a picture with the caption _Guess What?_. In it, Cisco was holding up his son, who was wearing a shirt that said _Big Brother_.

"That's cute," Sara remarked, and everyone nodded. "Guess we'll have to be making another cake for that baby shower."

Lisa and Cisco's wedding cake had been a collaborative effort between Snart's Tarts and Canary Cakes. People had put in a lot of orders ever since then for wedding cakes from either bakery. Sara and Leonard had worked on almost everyone, but everyone banned them from baking their own. Sin said they deserved a chance to have something made for them, and that it would be just as good as if they had made it.

Sara would be damned if she got banned from making her soon to be sister-in-law's cake for her next baby shower though.

"You could name your bakery after something the two of you have done," Laurel suggested.

Mick grimaced. "Sounds too sappy."

"Well, I think it's cute."

"Exactly. Cute is sappy."

Leonard was smothering a smile as he watched the two argue. "Now who's bickering?"

Laurel rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, you two started apart as rivals, and now look at you. It's like a messed up fairytale or legend."

Sara straightened up suddenly. "That's it!"

She flipped to a new page on her pad of paper and began to scrawl a logo on it with a pen. When she finished, she held it up for the others to see.

"What do you think?"

"It's got a good ring to it," Laurel said.

"Sounds good to me," Mick shrugged.

Sara turned to her fiancé. Leonard grinned and leaned over to kiss her. "It's perfect."

"Yeah," Sara agreed, looking down at the paper. "I think people will like _Legends_."

* * *

 **And there you have it. One Baker AU that ends on a sweet note.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


End file.
